The discussions are based on ITMA 2023’s overarching theme of Transforming the World of Textiles and its focused areas: advanced materials, automation and digital future, innovative technologies, and sustainability and circularity.

Mr Charles Beauduin, Chairman of ITMA Services – organiser of ITMA 2023, commented, “This new season follows last year’s Forging Ahead amidst a Pandemic series which consisted of interviews with 8 prominent leaders of textile and garment industry companies that had remained agile and resilient during the global coronavirus crisis.”

He added, “For this year’s series, we are privileged to have established leaders of the textile and garment industry to share in-depth views, create awareness to anticipate future demand and ideas to future-proof their business. Such discussions also create a more vibrant community within our industry.”

Each of the ITMAlive panel discussions features three industry members with the session moderated by a key media representative. 

The four panels are:

Advanced Materials

Moderated by Adrian Wilson, Analyst and Writer in technical textiles, nonwovens and composites industries from AWOL Media, the session covers the new technologies for the production of advanced materials and an overview of the current state of the industry and what can be expected in the near future. 

The panel members are:

• Lutz Walter, Secretary General, European Technology Platform for the Future of Textiles and Clothing (ETP)

• Jerome Ville, CEO, Fibroline SA

• Dr. Thomas Schmidt, Director of Innovation and RSL, Huafeng Textile Group 

Automation and Digital Future

Spotlighting on the digital future, barriers to automation, and challenges to creating a sustainable future for the textile industry, the discussion is moderated by Madelaine Thomas, Content Lead, World Information Textile Network (WTiN).

The panellists include: 

• Hayato Nishi, Public Relations Manager, Shima Seiki USA 

• Jonas Larsson, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Textiles, Engineering and Business, The Swedish School of Textiles

• Uwe Gansfort, Managing Director, canda International, C&A FIT (Factory for Innovation in Textiles)

Innovative Technologies

Focusing on current smart textiles trends and developments, and their impact on textile manufacturing technologies, the discussion is moderated by Claudia van Bonn, Editor-in-Chief, TextileTechnology, dfv media group. 

The panel comprises:

• Jean-Marc Senecot, Global Head of Research & Development, Porcher Industries 

• Michael Kieren, Product Manager, New Textile Technologies, Karl Mayer Stoll R&D 

• Prof Yoel Fink, Professor of Materials Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)